Let’s Talk Books, Talking Heads and the Titanic

Karen’s weekly message to her fellow bibliophiles.

Back to the written word for this week’s blog; the video blogs will be back soon.

I was talking to a friend about The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett which was recently released as a movie. I have a long history with this story going back to when I saw it as a play at the Sydney Opera House. I remember it being brilliant, well-staged and realistically acted. I could not get to the bookshop fast enough to flesh out the story.

I knew Bennett’s work from his play The Madness of King George, but even more so from the TV series Talking Heads. Do you know the Talking Heads series? They are monologues acted by such luminaries as (the late) Dame Thora Hird, Patricia Routledge, Maggie Smith and Julie Walters, to name only a few. Bennett wrote many of these pieces for the people who played them.

Anyone who has read play scripts can tell you that they do not always survive being read as you would a novel. When I read Talking Heads I marvelled at Alan Bennett, the wordsmith. His language is simple, accessible and sparse; not a word more is required; one word omitted would be missed. If you ever get the chance, spend a little time with Mr Bennett’s characters.

Do you watch The Book Club on ABC TV? Tuesday night this week they talked about The Midnight Watch by David Dyer which was very ably reviewed by John Reid (click on the title to read John’s review). This is two weeks in a row when Books at 60 has already reviewed a book featured on this respected TV show – just goes to show we are very current with our Book Club reviews.

Our competition has now closed and the winners will be announced next week, so follow us on Books at 60 Facebook page.  Thanks to our sponsors, there will be another amazing competition where you can win a selection of the books I’ve spoken about over the past month.

Thanks to our sponsors, there will be another amazing competition where you can win a selection of the books I’ve spoken about over the past month. Until next week, happy reading!

The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett (and a selection of Bennett’s other works) and The Midnight Watch by David Dyer are available now at Dymocks.